Solar Power and its Effect on Pollution

Solar energy is often spoken of as a way to dramatically reduce pollution. Specifically, the discussion centers on the reduction of carbon emissions from electric power plants and possibly automobiles. I think it is important to talk about this on a more in depth as pollution reduction is not as simple as it first sounds.

Lets talk about carbon emissions for example. Carbon gases, like carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and methane (CH₃OH) are the natural results of combustion, organic respiration, and organic decay. Thus carbon on the surface of the planet and in the atmosphere is constantly being recycled into different forms. A plant grows and converts the CO₂ from the air into long chain hydrocarbons in its cellulose. A plant dies and microbes ingest the cellulose and expel CO₂ or CH₃OH. Any problem that may exist, comes from carbon mined or pumped from below the earths surface. Without the human activity, most of this carbon stays sequestered away from the atmosphere.

One of the recurring arguments AGAINST solar power is that the production of PV cells creates huge amount of carbon emissions. The power necessary to create the pure semiconductors (silicon), the leaded glass, and the aluminum which comprise solar panels is either created by carbon burning power plants, or by hydro-electric power which could be used by other sources which are using carbon power. Thus, the argument is that PV cells produce far more pollution during their creation and installation than they will eliminate over their operational lifetime. This equation is bound to change as PV technology advances, but the huge financial incentives to install PV panels are not DIRECTLY reducing carbon emissions. The incentives may be leading to the advancement of the state of the art which will eventually result in large scale carbon reductions, however. The verdict is still out when judging the overall wisdom of these "carbon reducing" political measures.

There are possibly other significant pollution reduction issues involved with solar power, however. Most coal fired plants produce large amounts of ash and many other undesirable emissions. Coal burning plants produce a lot of airborne mercury, sulfur, and oxides of nitrogen. Regardless of the carbon emissions issue, eliminating these compounds in areas of high human concentrations has to be viewed as a huge plus.